Maple Leafs fined by NHL after Canucks allege they tampered over the summer

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Maple Leafs fined by NHL after Canucks allege they tampered over the summer

NEW YORK - The Toronto Maple Leafs have been fined an undisclosed amount of money by the NHL following the Vancouver Canucks' allegations of tampering.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a release Wednesday that Leafs coach Ron Wilson was guilty of tampering when he made reference to his team's interest in Henrik and Daniel Sedin during an interview prior to the Vancouver players becoming free agents.

While that led to the NHL team's fine, a second alleged incident was dismissed by the league.

Canucks GM Mike Gillis was upset after a recent Leafs TV segment showed Burke talking about a rumoured Vancouver-Tampa deal in which he said that Alex Burrows and Kevin Bieksa could be heading to the Lightning. The deal never materialized.

Calling those actions "unfortunate and inappropriate," Daly said that didn't constitute a tampering offence under league rules. He did warn the Leafs against doing something similar in the future.

The league hopes this will end a story that gained momentum after Gillis discussed it on Vancouver radio station Team 1040 earlier this week.

"Both (teams) have been instructed to refrain from further public comment of any kind relating to these matters." said Daly. "From the league's perspective, this matter is closed. We will make no further comment."